


the closest thing to family

by musicspeakstoo



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Brother Feels, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 04:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7251151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicspeakstoo/pseuds/musicspeakstoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dana overhears a conversation between Dick and Tim, and it worries her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the closest thing to family

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what this is, I just found it in my drafts and I had an itch to post something, and I vaguely remember writing this, so I figured why not? Set sometime shortly after Tim quits being Robin. I don't think we know that much about Dana in canon, especially about her family life, so I took some liberties. This is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Dana was in the attic putting away some sweaters when she heard the voices on the roof. Jack had gone out with some old business acquaintances, so it was just her and Tim at home. She sighed heavily, Jack was going to be so angry that Tim was talking to his superhero friends again. She was thankful that she'd left their bedroom window open as she carefully lifted herself through it. She was about to call out when she stopped, taking in the scene in front of her.

Tim was wrapped in the arms of a man in a blue and black suit (Nightwing, her brain supplied. Dick Grayson.) but he had his gloves off and was stroking Tim's hair. She noticed Tim's shoulders were shaking.

"Listen,” Nightwing was saying, “you're my little brother and nothing is going to change that, okay? Nothing." 

She saw Tim nod from where his face was still buried in the hero's chest. Nightwing sighed and squeezed him tighter.

"I know he's your dad and that I don't have as much of a claim on you," he continued, but a noise from Tim cut him off.

Tim pulled back from his chest and Dana could see that his face was wet and his eyes were wide, "Yes, you do. Out of all of us, you're the one with the biggest claim, Dick. You've had it since the minute you hugged me at the circus all those years ago." 

Even from far away and through the mask, she saw Nightwing's face crumple and it must have been more devastating up close, because Tim let out another sob. 

"Oh, Timmy," he said and Dana remembered the way Tim had flinched when Jack called him that a couple weeks ago.

Nightwing pulled back and cupped Tim's face in his hands, "I know we never said it, even though we should've, so I’m saying it now. I love you, Tim. And not just me, A and Oracle and Cass and the big guy love you too, they just show it differently." 

Tim snorted, "You sure you're all still gonna want to, now that I'm a useless civilian again?" 

Not for the first time, Dana felt a surge of anger toward the man Jack used to be. She took a breath and reminded herself that things were different now. She saw a muscle in Nightwing’s jaw jump, clearly he did not share her faith, but all he said was, "You mean my brilliant and clever little brother who's gonna change the world no matter what? Yeah, Tim, because that's what family's about."

Tim blushed and tried to look away, but Nightwing still had his face in his hands and wouldn't let him, pressing a kiss to Tim's forehead. Tim let out a noise of protest, but even to Dana it didn't feel genuine. Nightwing pulled Tim back into his chest and they stood there, hugging.

Dana was about to leave them when Nightwing spoke again, "You no longer being Robin doesn't mean we stop being family and I know you have your real one back, which I’m so so happy about, but..."

Tim lifted his head and frowned, "But what?"

Nightwing seemed to mull something over and Dana swears she heard him mutter, "B'd kill me if he found out I said this."

"What, Dick?" Tim pulled back more, so that Nightwing only had him by the shoulders.

Nightwing took a deep breath, "I'm always gonna be there for you, Timmy, that's what this whole big brother thing means. So if things with your dad get bad, and he and Dana leave you alone again, or if something else happens that you can’t talk to them about and you need to leave…you always have a place to stay." 

Dana managed to swallow her gasp. Oh, Jack was definitely not going to like this. It's one thing to see shadows in the corner of their eye at night sometimes, or flashes of blue and black or red and green at Tim’s window and another thing entirely to offer to take Tim away again.

"Dick," Tim began.

Nightwing (she was never going to be able to think of him as a real person with a real name, just a guy in a mask) shook his head, "I mean it, kiddo. B and I forget, sometimes, that your traumas are different than ours and _shit_ , Tim, your parents did a number on you." 

Tim opens his mouth to object but the other man shushes him, "You don't know what it did to me, Tim, to watch you, _you_ , this bright and chatty kid with a great sense of humor fucking light up every time you showed him even the barest interest. I watched you, you know and I know how hard you had to work to get B's approval and affection. You deserved more Timmy and I'm glad your dad is back and doing better, but you don't know what I'd do to make sure you don't turn back into that shy kid begging for scraps from people who should be giving him the world." 

His voice is hard, the sort of dangerous edge she imagines he uses to intimidate criminals. It gives her goosebumps.

Dana eases herself back into the bedroom and sits down hard on the bed. If she strained, she's sure she could hear Tim's reply, but she’s too caught up in her own thoughts. 

Once, when she was sixteen, she had gone out with friends and gotten _extremely_ drunk. She'd gotten home around four in the morning, and her father had started screaming at her. Still drunk, she'd sat down hard on the stairs, hanging her head. When she'd looked up, her older brother was standing in between her and their father. He had ushered her into the shower, held her hair back when she threw up, and made sure she took Advil before going to bed. The whole time, his face had looked like Nightwing's voice had sounded. She thought a lot about brothers, and about fathers and sons. 

By the time she hears Jack's key in the door, she'd decided she wasn't going to tell him about the visit after all.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm foxmulderscully on tumblr if you wanna come say hi or talk about Tim angst.


End file.
